Newcastle United 0 Arsenal 0: match report

Read a full match report of the Premier League game between Newcastle United
and Arsenal at St James' Park on Saturday Aug 13 2011.

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Flashpoint: Gervinho (right) gets to grips with Joey Barton and life in the Premier LeaguePhoto: GETTY IMAGES

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Centre stage: Barton, the Newcastle United midfielder, was rarely far from the actionPhoto: ACTION IMAGES

By Duncan White, St James' Park

7:30PM BST 13 Aug 2011

It was inevitable. Joey Barton has been the centre of attention all summer on Tyneside and he was again in the thick of it at St James' Park on Saturday. With just over a quarter of an hour left, and with Arsenal chasing victory, the game degenerated into bad-tempered controversy.

Gervinho, the Arsenal debutant, went down after being clipped in the area and while referee Peter Walton was having none of it, Barton felt so aggrieved by this attempt to cheat that he grabbed the Ivorian by the scruff of the neck. Steven Taylor tried to intervene and split them up but Gervinho stupidly reached round and slapped Barton.

That Barton went down as if one of the Klitschkos had hooked him, and that Taylor than claimed Gervinho had elbowed his team-mate was hardly valorous but Gervinho was dumb to lose control.

It was history repeating for Arsenal. In their last visit here, that dramatic 4-4, Abou Diaby had been sent off for pushing over Barton after an aggressive challenge from the Newcastle United midfielder. Even earlier in the game, Barton felt - justly - that Alex Song had stamped on him in the aftermath of what was an obviously provocative challenge. He clearly gets under this Arsenal team's skin.

That he was even playing would have seemed impossible 10 days ago.

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There has been a rapprochement and he may yet stay at the club for the season. His selection was certainly popular with the crowd. They cheered his name loudest when the teams were read out and chanted it before kick off, Barton responding with a salute.

The Arsenal crowd made their feelings clear, too. Even before the red card, this was a flat performance against a Newcastle side that really struggled to keep sustained possession. With 20 minutes left they chanted for Arsene Wenger to spend some "expletive" money. And kept chanting it.

One of the players he has bought this summer proved the most dangerous. Gervinho looked skittish the first few times he got the ball but was soon scaring the hell out of Ryan Taylor, Newcastle's ad hoc left-back. His problem was his sporadic involvement in Arsenal's build up and a lack of composure in delivering the key pass, two

things not unrelated. When Vermaelen won a brutal header - how he was missed last season - to put Gervinho clear, he drove impressively into the area but then had his square ball intercepted by Fabio Coloccini.

It was not the first time the Newcastle captain thwarted Arsenal.

When Stephen Taylor inexplicably tried to carry the ball forward he lost it and suddenly Arshavin was clear. Colocinni gambled on the Russian trying to pass to Gervinho and again intercepted. His impressive first-half was only compromised by the booking he received for pulling back Gervinho near the touchline.

Like most of Arsenal�s chances, that had come from a Newcastle mistake rather than their own creativity. Tim Krul came closest to scoring for the visitors, nearly pushing into his own net under pressure from Laurent Koscielny, Danny Simpson clearing off the line.

Before that, Van Persie caught a lucky break when Taylor smashed a clearance straight into Colocinni, the ricochet dropping for the Dutchman. Taylor was sharp in to block.

Gervinho aside, Arsenal were frustratingly static. Kieran Gibbs, perhaps still troubled by the thigh injury he had last week, was hesitant going forward and with Barton tucked in tight on the Newcastle right there was plenty of space to run into. The one inspired moment in the first half came just before the break, Arshavin conjuring a superb scoop pass that Van Persie, another who looked a little rusty, could not get under control in time to shoot.

Newcastle were not making Arsenal work hard for possession. The plan seemed to be to hit the ball long to Demba Ba and Shola Ameobi and hope they could win a set-piece and use that to threaten the Arsenal goal. The only flicker of attacking quality came from one Barton pass but even he was struggling to get into the game.

Alan Pardew tried to do something about his team�s one dimensional approach. He kept them in the dressing room much long than Wenger did Arsenal and when they emerged Ba had been replaced by Gabriel Obertan, who took up a position in the hole. He was impressive in the role - and when he pulled out wide later - and will surely start the next game. Indeed Newcastle were much better in the second half without ever really creating a clear chance. Alan Pardew also needs to recruit but perhaps without the same urgency as Wenger.